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How we chose the name Daniela Grace

Over the last few weeks I’ve written drafts of posts here and then delete them. As my kids get older I am more careful about what I share on the internet. Odds are they will never read my little personal blog one day in the future, but I’m careful anyway.

Anyhoozles. Let’s talk about baby D. For one, my husband has nicknamed her “smelly danielee” just because it’s fun to say. Poor thing. Also, people keep spelling her name with 2 “Ls” but her name only has 1, like the Italian spelling of Daniela and how my auntie spells it.

Why did I name her after my auntie? Well, for one my cousins (her kids) both agreed it would be ok. That was important to us. And auntie Daniela has been one of the most important women in my life from day 1. When my mom was alive I always called auntie Daniela my second mom because we were like two families living as one. My brother and auntie’s son are only a few weeks apart in age, and my cousin Rawan and I are only 4 months apart in age. We were like sisters, and they were like brothers, and we were often like one big family.

I remember one time, way before cell phones entered the world, I had gone to the Wrentham outlets with my brother and parents. We shopped at Polo where I got my first Polo shirt and skirt and my mom let me wear them out of the store. An hour later who did we run into? My cousins and auntie and uncle! At the outlets! And Rawan’s mom had bought her the same exact outfit and Rawan left the store wearing it too! It was such a weird coincidence and my whole life has been like that.

Since my mom passed away, auntie Daniela has held an even more important role in my life. She and my auntie Grace have always been great examples for me of smart, capable women who can make the world move. So it made sense to name our last child after them both – Daniela Grace. I look to both my auntie Daniela and auntie Grace as examples of how I want to live my own life, from how they keep their kitchens (pristine and organized) to how they entertain (everything is perfect to a T) to how they dress (they look put together even when dressed down).

Now that my mom is on my brain, I might as well share a few thoughts about her. Soon I will have lived as many years without her as with her. She passed away when I was 18, and I’ll be 36 in a couple of years. It is crazy to me to think about how much she has shaped who I am and how I live my life when I had her for so few years. It’s also crazy that despite only having a couple of photos of her and no videos, my children feel like they know her. Alessandra prays for her every time we pass a church or cemetery, and Raffi recounts stories of things my mom did when I was younger as though he was there. He tells the story of the time we went to the beach and it started pouring so my mom took my friends and I to the movies spur of the moment instead. He talks about how my mom loved eating potato chips while watching a movie on a rainy day. He will comment, as I’m making breaded chicken, about how I always helped my mom bread it when I was a kid. Both he and Alessandra will remind me that my mom always played Monopoly with me, even when she had vacuuming to do or errands to run. And that she always had some fun idea up her sleeve. I sometimes forget things about my mom, and I love that I’ve shared enough with my children for them to remind me.

I struggled with this fourth child. I was nervous to have her and nervous to see how our family would change. But wow has it been a blessing! The older kids have become so close to one another and they all love doting on their baby sister. When I’m having a hard day I remind myself that we are giving them a great gift – siblings! They will be a force in life and long after my husband and I are gone they will have one another. And I’m so thankful for that.

Beautiful …I enjoyed reading.
You are amazing appreciating people in your life ..you’re mom …she was a very very very special woman …loving caring humble smiling joyful funny…what ever you can think about a special person you can describe your mom. She is unforgettable beautiful woman. Love you dear and god bless you